Non-road Electric Vehicle DemonstrationUtility Terrain Vehicle (UTV)

Satish Rajagopalan, PhD

Daniel Foster

Andra Rogers (Project Manager)

12-13-2011

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Background

• Utility terrain vehicles (UTVs) are used for a variety of purpose ranging from utility to recreation

– Examples include military bases, beach patrols, ports, agricultural locations, industrial sites, and local/municipal applications such as parks and schools

• US UTVs in 1997 consumed about 122 million gallons of gasoline, equivalent to 2 billion pounds of CO2 emissions

• Replacement of the gas-powered ATVs with an electric equivalent has the potential to significantly reduce emissions output and fuel consumption

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Project Objective

• Test all-electric UTVs in the same applications and work situations as its combustion counterpart

• Verify through in-field testing the durability, range, operating characteristics, and charge profiles of the all-electric UTVs

• Verify manufacturer claims that all-electric UTVs are suitable replacement for gasoline-powered UTVs

• Instrument and deploy in field two all-electric UTVs to collect data for analysis

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Project Partners

• Gulf Power

• Southern Company

• Eglins Air Force Base

• Green Fleet Solutions

• EPRI

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All Electric UTVs Under Test

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Electric UTV #1: 4-Passenger - 4x4

• 72 volt 30 peak horsepower electric motor

• 130 ft . lbs. of peak torque• 72V Lead-Acid Battery

Pack (12-volt deep-cycle batteries)

• Appx. weight: 800lbs• Height: 78”• Width: 52”• Length: 112”• Charging voltage: 120 Vac

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Electric UTV #2: 6-Passenger - 4x4

• 64 volt 30 peak horsepower electric motor

• 130 ft . lbs. of peak torque• 72V Lead-Acid Battery

Pack (8-volt deep-cycle batteries)

• Appx. Weight: 1750 lbs• Height: 80”• Width: 52”• Length: 150”• Charging voltage: 120 Vac

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Instrumentation and Data Collection

• Two all-electric UTVs are fully instrumented to collect data– Charger AC power– Battery DC voltage– Battery DC current– Ambient temperature– Battery temperature– Vehicle incline– Vehicle speed– Distance traveled

• Electrical data sampled every 0.1 seconds and temperature sampled every 1 minute

• Data logged onboard and remote transferred to EPRI ftp-site in real-time

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Instrumentation and Data Collection

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Sensors

• Advanced Pulse Wattnode true RMS AC watt-hour transducer for input AC energy measurement during charging

• Hall current sensors - accessory, battery, and input AC current

• Inclinometer• Speedometer mounted on axle (distance computed from

speed and distance per wheel revolution)• Thermocouples for ambient and battery temperature

– Battery temperature measured on post and at the middle of the pack

• Direct voltage measurement• Dedicated 24V power supply for datalogger and sensors

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Data Analysis Goal

• Vehicle duty cycles

• Charging characteristics

• Vehicle range dependence on

– Terrain

– Temperature

– Speed

• Battery life and temperature dependence

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Preliminary Results

Charge energy ~ 4.6 kWh

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Preliminary Results

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Preliminary Results

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Summary and Next Steps

• Electric UTVs presently in field trials at Eglins AFB

• Remote data collection in progress and will continue for six

months

• Data analysis to be performed to evaluate duty cycle, vehicle

operating characteristics, charge profiles

• Performance and emission comparison with gasoline UTV to be

completed

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Electric UTVs in Action

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Together…Shaping the Future of Electricity